Santa Ana mom helped push city reform measure

Laura Garibay of Santa Ana is part of a core group of volunteers called SACReD, Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development. Through the efforts of these volunteers, the "Sunshine Ordinance" passed in Santa Ana. The ordinance calls for increased transparency at City Hall and community meetings in connection with certain projects. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – She's a foot soldier in a campaign to make Santa Ana government more transparent to its residents.

Three years ago, said Laura Garibay, a preschool teacher and mother of two young children, she would have never imagined herself in such a role.

"I just thought, I want to finish my education, get a degree, get into a school and be a teacher," she said.

She found herself part of a core group of about a dozen residents and representatives of community groups that eventually grew to about 40 people. That group became the foundation of a movement that organized, met with city officials and ultimately, on a 4-3 vote, persuaded a majority of the City Council to approve a package of measures dubbed the Sunshine Ordinance. Its aim is to help residents monitor government and become more involved in planning the future of their communities and the city. It took effect Nov. 14.

Garibay said she was taking a class called Barrios and Health at Cal State Fullerton, where she received her bachelor's in 2010. A requirement was community service.

To fulfill the requirement, she connected with a coordinator for SACReD – the acronym for Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development – who was also working for Latino Health Access. He said he needed help passing out fliers for a health fair. He also invited her to a meeting of SACReD. The group had formed around 2005 in response to city plans to develop what's called the Station District near the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center. In developing the project, the city acquired a number of the properties in the area, resulting in boarded-up homes.

"I went and I stayed, and I'm still there," Garibay said. "This was a way to see how my city works, how I'm affected by decisions made around me."

Garibay said she attended a SACReD mini-retreat, at which organizers talked about community needs. The group had been seeking public benefits, such as park space and affordable housing, in the Station District project. City officials in 2010 promised that a 1.5-acre park would be built as part of the project, but they declined to put that promise and others, such as a new community center, into a legally binding document. The housing project broke ground in January, and city officials, working with Santa Ana Unified, ultimately developed plans for a joint-use community center that broke ground Oct. 24 at Garfield Elementary School.

HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE

The group, in talking about the way decisions were made in connection with the Station District, began looking at the decision-making processes in other cities, including San Francisco and San Jose, where sunshine ordinances have been adopted.

Garibay, who as a child immigrated from Guerrero state, Mexico, had family members, including her grandmother, who had lived in the neighborhood near the city's train station, and who had been displaced to make room for development of the Station District.

"I always was bad with political science," she said. "For me, it was a learning experience, because it had a lot to do with laws, regulations, planning and all that stuff. I never really had an experience with it before, and wasn't interested. But after having seen those events, and seeing that in my own family's neighborhood, it got me interested."

The group's work led to research into how decisions are made at City Hall, and discussions about what changes might make sense in Santa Ana.

The group held a number of retreats in 2010 and 2011 on how to improve the development process, and looked at models in other cities, said Andrew Hausermann, an organizer for the Orange County Congregation Community Organization. "We spent a lot of time seeking to understand the process before tinkering or changing it," he said.

By summer 2011, he said, the idea of a sunshine ordinance began to crystalize.

The group met at least once a week, and for a six-month period leading up to council adoption of the measure, up to three times a week. They made presentations to the community at venues such as a senior center before neighborhood associations and at schools. They held two forums.

Related Links

Laura Garibay of Santa Ana is part of a core group of volunteers called SACReD, Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development. Through the efforts of these volunteers, the "Sunshine Ordinance" passed in Santa Ana. The ordinance calls for increased transparency at City Hall and community meetings in connection with certain projects. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Laura Garibay of Santa Ana holds a sign made while SACReD was lobbying for support for a sunshine ordinance. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Pictured are some of the items created by SACReD while they worked on getting an ordinance designed for government transparency passed. The photo was taken on Oct. 15, the date when the ordinance was passed. PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA GARIBAY, PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA GARIBAY
Members of SACReD hold yellow cutouts - representing sunflowers - as the Santa Ana City Council discussed the "Sunshine Ordinance" Oct. 1 before giving it initial approval. RON GONZALES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
More than 200 residents attended a community forum March 29 at Latino Health Access to learn about the "Sunshine Ordinance." Speaking is Reyna Lopez, one of the leaders of the effort. PHOTO COURTESY OF SACRED
Luis Sarmiento was one of the speakers explaining the "Sunshine Ordinance" at a forum held at KidWorks in May. Laura Garibay learned about the Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development from him. RON GONZALES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
About 60 people attended a community forum on May 31 at KidWorks in Santa Ana. They heard an update on the "Sunshine Ordinance." RON GONZALES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Members of SACReD – the Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development gathered for a commemorative photo on the steps outside the Police Department Community Room after a meeting of the City Council ethics committee in June. RON GONZALES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Members of SACReD gather for a photo after the Santa Ana City Council gave initial approval to the "Sunshine Ordinance" they had proposed. Laura Garibay is at the front, center. RON GONZALES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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